Atlanta Falcons Free Agency: Mario Williams Not Franchised: Is He Atlanta Bound?

Arian Foster signed a huge contract that leads everyone to believe that the Houston Texans are letting Mario Williams walk and go to any team he wants. There will obviously be a bidding war for his services and Mario could command a top dollar contract.

Mario Williams is a 27-year-old defensive end and could bring in a youthful pass rusher who is an upgrade over John Abraham, and those are few and far between. However there are three big questions: Cap Space, Scheme Fit and Team personality fit.

Does Mario Williams fit Mike Nolan's Scheme?

Now that we see that he could fit the cap well, the next question is to whether Williams can fit in with Mike Nolan’s new defense. Nolan would love a weapon like Mario Williams, he can use him in a hybrid DE/OLB role that he can get as much pressure on the quarterback as possible and won’t drop into coverage much.

Williams’ true strength is as a pass rusher and his run stuffing ability could only help improve the Falcons already solid run defense. Williams would make Mike Nolan ecstatic. By bringing in Williams and Nolan, and re-signing Decoud, Grimes, Lofton and Biermann the Falcons would be keeping together a talent level that was right on par with last year if not better and should wind up as a better defense in the new scheme.

How will Mario Williams fit in on the defensive line that has been lead by John Abraham for years?

After being led by John Abraham for the past five years, the defensive line will be missing its veteran leader. Mario Williams is a leader and will fit in right away with his teammates. Smith and Nolan like to have a rotation at defensive end and with Williams, Edwards and Sidbury, they could have one of the strongest defensive end groupings in the NFL.

Williams is known as more of a soft spoken leader than your typical vocal leader. But the Falcons have their vocal leaders in team captain Curtis Lofton and sophomore phenom Sean Weatherspoon. Jonathan Babineaux will now be the veteran line leader at defensive tackle and if Williams signs the right contract, Atlanta might be able to keep John Abraham as well.

Can The Falcons Afford Mario Williams?

Now, the biggest question, “can the Falcons afford Mario Williams?” The short of it, is yes. The Falcons have $17.5 million in cap space after the re-signings of safety Thomas Decoud, tight end Michael Palmer and running back Antone Smith today.

They still have to re-sign linebacker Curtis Lofton, defensive end Kroy Biermann, wide receiver Harry Douglas, and center Todd McClure. The Falcons could also extend Matt Ryan, and have two to five guys that they could cut and still have around $15-20 million after re-signings.

The Falcons could easily afford Mario Williams if he agreed to a smaller cap hits the first two years and then let his salary jump after the first two because the cap will jump, and still be players for some other smaller free agent signings. Here is the possible cap friendly contract Mario Williams could sign:

Six years, $86 million with $45 million guaranteed (based on Julius Peppers’ total deal.)

Signing Bonus - $25 million (pro-rated over the first five years)

Roster Bonus for 2014 - $20 million (pro-rated over last four)

2012 - $5 million base salary, $5 million signing bonus pro-ration - $10 million cap hit

2013 - $5.75 million base salary, $5 million signing bonus pro-ration - $10.75 million cap hit

2014 - $6.5 million base salary, $5 million signing bonus pro-ration, $5 million roster bonus pro-ration - $16.5 million cap hit

2015 - $7.25 million base salary, $5 million signing bonus pro-ration, $5 million roster bonus pro-ration - $17.25 million cap hit

2016 - $8 million base salary, $5 million signing bonus pro-ration, $5 million roster bonus pro-ration - $18 million cap hit

2017 - $8.5 million base salary, $5 million roster bonus pro-ration - $13.5 million cap hit

Mario Williams could be a great fit for the Falcons and if he does sign a contract similar to what is detailed above, it could wind up being a huge signing that leave the Falcons with around $5-10 million in cap room to make a run at a smaller free agent as well.